During the summer of 2002, I had the opportunity to backpack through parts of China for a month and have decided to share some of my experience with other youth travellers; especially the ones who are looking for a low-cost adventurous trip to China.
Since there is so much information you can find about China from the web and many other free-of-charge sources, I will not go into the details about each landmark, the local eatery, recreational facilities (parks, amusement parks, leisure area etc.) and the likes in this article. What I will focus on are some tips that would save you money and trouble when you are backpacking in China. I toured around the JiangSu area only, but I'm pretty sure some of my advice would be helpful and/or interesting to some of you.
1.) Hostelling in China is the best way to go.
To my surprise, China has some of the best hostels in the World. My observation is solely based on comparing China's hostels with North American ones. Admittedly, a lot of us, including myself a while ago, have some sort of a stereotype perception towards China's hostelling services. We tend to think that the hostels in China are dirty, provide poor services, have poor location and even considered them as an unsafe place to stay. I can absolutely assure you that the above is SO WRONG. My experience tells me that China's hostels are better than the ones in North America because of the following reasons:
- It is ten times cleaner than the North American ones. Why? Because they hire 5 janitors to clean your room, hallway, washrooms etc. on a regular basis - my estimate would be 3 times a day at least.
- China's hostels have very friendly services. The hostel that I stayed in Shanghai has three receptionists at the lobby and they were all very nice and helpful people. You can ask them anything from where to feed yourself with some good food to transportation to other cities. Oh ya...the receptionist provide you with 24/7 services. North America hostel simply don't have this kind of resource.
- Hostels in China are very safe. A security guard is hired. Need not say more...
- Lockers to store your valuables are provided too. I've seen people leave their laptops and photographic equipments on their bed.
- You can pretty much consider any hostel in China to be equivalent to a hotel. Cafe for breakfast, Internet Access, a bar with nice harbor view is all within the hostel.
- So what's the prize for a dorm room (usually one dormitory room contains 10 beds.)? 50RMB. That is around $8 CDN a night! Just to put things into perspective here: Hostels in Canada usually charge you $20 to $45 a night, depending on whether it's high season (i.e. Christmas time would cost you $45).
- China does not have a common hostel or backpackers network like North America. The "hostel" idea is still relatively new in China. For example, Shanghai only has two hostels within the metropolitan area. To my knowledge, Beijing has two only. There are, however, some hostels that are located in some rural area that are very nice and cheap. Nevertheless, transportation would be an issue.
- All hostels in China DO NOT accept credit cards payments. This will likely change in the foreseeable future though.
In short, I would definitely recommend the hostel experience in China. It's almost the perfect place to meet people all around the world. People are usually very cool there as well. I had this notion of staying in the hostels for a long time (half a year?). Why not? It cost a lot less than my rent here in Toronto!
2.) Piracy Problem (Fakes or Knockoffs)
Piracy is really a tremendous problem in China. We're not talking about pirate software or audio CDs here. I'm referring to things from cigarettes, medicine, pops to 100-dollar bills (RMB). To your dismay, some of the fake products look just like the real ones, making it extremely difficult to distinguish their genuinety. In some rural areas, even some buses and taxis are operated by drivers without valid authorization and/or permits.
Here are some tips to help you stay away from trouble:
- Always buy medicines from a big pharmacy or department store.
- Buy drinks and snacks from well-known convenient stores.
- When ever you need to do a currency exchange, make sure you do it in a bank or well-known hotel, under which you'll always obtain a recipient.
3.) Transportation issues
If you are staying in a big city like Shanghai, take the subway. It cost $2-$4RMB per ride - less than $0.8CDN. The subway is very modern and you can pretty much get to most of the famous landmarks. It's worth to mention that the subway closes at 11:00 pm though. Therefore, taxi would become you only means of transportation after 11:00 pm in most cases.
4.) My views about the labor in China.
Labor power is one of the economic driving forces in China - yes we all know this. However, such phenomenon has overwhelmed me quite a bit at the beginning of my trip. Simply put, I am not used to being served by 3-4 waiter/waitresses in a restaurant, all standing behind me to serve my needs. When you leave a teahouse, you have waitresses at the entrance saying good-bye to you - that's their only job function. I have spoken to some local professionals working in the Information technology and software development field. My findings have shown that their salary is nowhere close to the same in North America or other places in Asia for that matter. From a visitor's point of view, you can surely take advantage of the cheap labor and leverage your money to maximize your enjoyment and fun. Just make sure you treat everyone with respect and do not get carried away with spending that is totally not necessary. This rule will allow you to stay away from all kinds of people issues in China - trust me on this one.
5.) Do not expect everything in China to be cheaper than back home...
Price range for any commodity in China varies by a large margin. So do not expect everything in the JiangSu area to be cheap. I have had a breakfast for as much as $0.5 RMB in SuZhou, and a single sandwich in a cafe located at a bank in Shanghai for $60RMB. Alcohol in Shanghai is expensive if you're at a prestigious restaurant or bar. Some bars would charge you $50RMB as an entrance fee - we certainly do not get this kind of charge back home. Alright, I'll cut this section short. I'm sure you get the idea.
Note: 1 CDN = 5.57 RMB (Feb 20th 2003 exchange rate)
6.) Mandarin is not a MUST
If you can speak mandarin and read Chinese, that would be a BIG bonus when you travel in China. But, you do not have to be fluent at all. Why? The fact is that lots of people don't speak the official mandarin dialect in China; especially in the JiangSu area. JiangSu is divided into different regions and each region has its own dialects. For example, Shanghai people speaks Shanghaiese, Nanging people has its own Nanging dialects.
I've known a few Japanese youth whom I've met at the hostel in Shanghai and they do not speak Chinese and English, but hey, they still manage to get by and travel all over the country including Tibet!?! These are hardcore backpackers though. They somehow have this instinct that allow them to find accommodations, arrange transportation and most importantly, have the ability to not overspend their money. I actually learned a few tricks from them when it comes to bargaining.
7.) China has the best taxi drivers! No questions asked.
Taxi drivers in China are very professional, especially the ones in bigger cities such as Shanghai. Take Shanghai for example, the entire taxi industry is dominated by a few big companies and "Da Chung" is the most well known one. The training that "Da Chung" provides to their drivers is exceptional. You can ask the drivers weather questions and they'll help you out in a professional manner. They're actually one of the best traveling guides in China because you can ask them to bring you to places of your personal preference. You can basically ask them anything from the location of the best eatery at night to any teahouse of your own preference. If you're into nightlife, you should ask the drivers' opinion about the safety (a factor related to Crime rate) of the area you're heading to. Want to shop for any specific items at a bargain prize? Ask the taxi driver too. Most drivers will give you their honest opinion about anything you ask. You'll see a sign with a number of stars somewhere inside the cab (usually located at the front of the cab). The number of star represents the driver's service ratings - the more stars, the more experience and the better the driver is. If you see a cab from "Da Chung" with a red light at the top, go for it! The red light signifies that the driver has served the company for a long period of time without having any accidents or complaints from customers. These drivers are usually granted special privilege by the transportation ministry.
8.) Shanghai is arguably more multi-cultural than some of the North American cities.
Shanghai is a very multi-cultural city in the sense that you'll be able to see foreigners everywhere on the street, especially in "The Bund" area - The harbor facing Pu Dong. I'll let you do your own research as to why Shanghai has so many foreigners. Nonetheless, I will provide you with one pointer about this phenomenon: If safety is a concern for you, going to places where foreigners go is probably a good choice for you. Foreigners are treated and protected well in Shanghai primarily because of international image. China wants to impress the rest of the world that Shanghai is the Paris of Asia. Safety for foreigners is taken seriously. Therefore, you'll have undercover police officers and security guards minding the places that are of interest to foreigners. In addition, better services are provided to foreigners in most cases, under which the fees are much greater. I did not, however, taken the above into consideration during my trip, because I very much prefer to try out different things as oppose to sticking with places and services catered to foreigners. Interestingly enough, I was treated as a foreigner on some occasions simply because I hold an Australian passport and speak relatively good English.
9.) Three-wheel carts
If you are on a road trip in China, the transportation cost can add up. Of course, you can always walk, but keep in mind that China is a vast country with tons of people. Walking on streets with hundreds of people surrounding you can become very tiring.
My recommendation to you is to make use of the Three-wheel-cart to save money and to commute in town. These three-wheel-carts are basically a wooden cart powered by a driver riding on a bicycle in front. I strongly suggest you follow this rule of thumb: Give a tip to the driver! It's not mandatory or a general practice to give tips in China, but hey, be nice and generous! It takes lots of effort and strength to ride such carts. After all, it would only cost you less than $6 RMB (A buck back home) for a 2-5Km ride.
10.) You can bargain like a mad man in China.
Rule of thumb: You can bargain just about anything in China. I'll provide you with a few examples here.
If you take a cab from Shanghai's Pu Dong Airport to the city of Shanghai, that would probably cost you $130RMB, which is considered very expensive. But guess what? Tell the taxi driver that you want a 70% discount. He/she will give the discount to you. The theory here is that when your destination is far away, you can always ask the cab driver to give you a discount.
If you check in a hotel/motel after 12:00pm, ask for a 50% discount! Sometimes you don't even have to ask. The receptionist will give you a discount right away when you check in late. Why? From a hotel owner's point of view, you do not want to have empty rooms. It's really that simple. I stayed in a 3 star hotel in *2*, and I still managed to obtain a 70% discount - I believed I check in at 10:00pm.
I managed to buy a piece of Jade - a nice one by the way - at a mini jewellery store for $50RMB. The original prize? $850RMB!
11.) Expect lots of walking if you backpack in China.
Backpacking in China requires a lot of walking. I mean A LOT of walking. You can pretty much walk all day for nothing and it can be brutal during the summer. Sure, you can always take a taxi or join a tour to avoid all the trouble, but if you want a real backpacking experience in China, walk! Why so much walking? Well, China is one of the biggest country in the world and yet and transportation system does not encompass all the places you might want to visit. Sometimes you have to walk for a while to make a transit from one route to another. Worst comes to worst, you can always go for a taxi to commute if you're really tired or simply cannot take the heat during the summer. I like walking myself though.